Trouble is a Friend
by TheGreySpecies
Summary: The Potter children discover something new everyday; interesting things such as a enigmatic brown liquid that their father was taciturnly drinking. H/G or Cannon Pairings.


**Disclaimer:** Thank goodness, I don't own the Potter children, much less the entire Harry Potter series. ;) D'aw, who am I kidding? I would love to.

I'm back, again, with a family fanfic; I hope you enjoy taking a peek into the Potter household. :D

* * *

"What do you s'pose it is?" A small red-haired girl asked her two raven-haired brothers.

The father of the household, who had just been sitting where his three children now sat, sipping his cup taciturnly, had been called back to his department urgently, hardly having time to bid his children farewell as they ate their breakfast. This action, however, was hardly a good one, especially when one left three mischievous children alone in the kitchen.

But if one would ask the Head of the Auror Department why he would leave without a simple "behave", he would bluntly and abruptly reply, "It's a lost cause." In fact, one would expect a broken glass as soon as the father slammed the door.

He seemed to be the only one they would listen to, yet they also loved him because he would indirectly encourage them with meaningless words such as "impressive" or "cool" after a successful prank. Although — with good measures, of course — complimenting them only when he was absolutely confident that his wife's fierce glare was thankfully absent.

And so, consequently — and indirectly — Harry Potter had left his troublesome children with their current argument.

The Potter children were sitting down beside each other, with the boys sandwiching their sister. They were sitting with only their eyes peeking out above the table: two chestnut and one emerald. All three of them had their eyes fixed on the steaming cup that their father had abandoned in his hurry.

"Well, we won't know unless we take a peek." The eldest — James — whispered, his chocolate eyes swiveling from his siblings to the cup.

"But won't Dad be mad?" The youngest brother — Albus — whispered back, his eyes expressing the fear he had at getting caught; out his siblings, he was the most rational, yet his mischievousness was hidden instead of outwardly shown. Albus didn't like to be the deer in the headlights.

His other two siblings snorted as James replied, "Please, Dad hardly gets mad at anything. And besides," he continued while Albus rolled his eyes, "If he _does_ get mad, then we'll let Lily do all the talking; right, Lily?" James asked, narrowing his eyes at his sister.

Out of the three siblings, Lily was the best liar; she knew exactly how to twist a story around, and most of the time, she would cause the trouble, yet blame it on her brothers, and it did work sometimes. She would be a great spy with her constant false innocence.

Lily nodded at her brother, her eyes wide as it stared at the cup, wondering just what was her father drinking.

Albus shook his head exaggeratedly, yet complied; they wouldn't ever listen to him.

"Brilliant!" James exclaimed, cautiously glancing around for their mother. She had been so exhausted that she had made them breakfast and had thrown herself back onto the bed like a rag, trusting Harry with the children. Trusting Harry Potter with children was a sin, apparently.

James pushed the steaming cup towards him while his siblings peeked over his shoulder to eye the contents. It was brown.

"Is that —" Lily breathed, her freckled features twisting into an expression of disgust, "Mud?"

Her similarly freckled brothers expressed a look of outrage at her comment; gaping at her, Albus said, "Dad wouldn't drink mud! That's disgusting!"

"Then why is it brown?"

"Mud is not the only thing that's brown, Lily." James replied in a matter-of-fact tone, rolling his eyes at his sister's foolishness.

"What is it, then?" Lily crossed her tiny arms and pinned her older brother with a smug look.

"Erm —" James stuttered, startled at this question; he attempted to compose himself and look smart, "Well — I can't really tell; I have to taste it first." He threw her an innocent smile, gladly draining the look of smug on her face.

"But what if it's poisonous?" Albus whispered, his freckled face morphing into a look of worry.

"What is wrong with you two?" James said, outraged by their theories, "_Dad_," he emphasized, "Was drinking it! Why would it be poisonous? As far as I know, Dad is still alive!" He glared at Albus.

Albus, however, didn't back down; instead, he met his older brother's glare with one of his own.

"Mummy always said that drinks can go bad."

"Bad, not poisonous."

"If it goes bad then it's poisonous."

"That's only if it's been out for more than a week!"

"How would you know, anyway? Mummy told _me _that."

"She didn't need to tell _me_ that because I'm smarter than you, and I know more."

Unbeknownst to the two bickering boys, Lily had reached towards the cup, drawing it towards her without the slightest sound. Not wanting interruptions, she lifted the cup towards her lips, took a small sniff, and stole a sip.

Lily's crinkled her button nose as she failed to acknowledge its high temperature; the brown liquid burned its way down, yet her features brightened up considerably as she turned her attention towards the taste; she cried out:

"Wow!"

Her brothers nearly jumped out their seats as they heard their sister's cry.

"What?"

Lily grinned, her teeth like tiny pearls, and her chocolate eyes twinkling hysterically. She pushed the cup towards James, who looked even more startled at this behavior.

"James, you've got to taste it! It's so good!"

"You tasted it, already?" James gaped at his sister, his freckled face expressing his approval.

"Yes!" Lily cried out again, causing Albus to wince, but despite his disapproval, his curiosity won the round this time.

"How was it?"

"Heavenly." she stated, grinning at him in a way that made Albus question her sanity. Just then, James had stole a sip, and Lily eagerly awaited for it to sink in. When it did, his face had brightened up exactly like his sister's.

"This is amazing!"

"Yeah, I know!"

"Al, you've got to try this!"

James slid the still steaming cup of brown liquid towards his younger brother. Albus glanced at his siblings' grinning countenances, and hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

"C'mon, Al, what's the worst that can happen?" James asked exaggeratedly, running a hand through his coal-black hair.

"We could get in trouble."

"If we do," interrupted Lily, lifting her chin up, "Then it'll be worth it," Albus lifted up an eyebrow, "C'mon, Al, no one's here, anyway; taste it first, then worry about trouble later."

Albus determined his siblings' honesty, yet they seemed to grow gradually jumpy, and they started pounding the table with their tiny fists as they cheered for him. Albus sighed, finally, confirmed a decision.

"Alright."

Lily and James grinned happily.

Albus lifted up the cup with trembling fingers, and took a careful sip. It took him a moment to process what he had just drank, before a grin — identical to the ones his siblings were sporting — forced its way through his freckled features.

"This — This is —" Albus struggled to find a word to describe its wonderful taste; his siblings laughed, "I want more." Albus stated bluntly, taking another sip.

"Don't forget about me!" James cried.

"Hear, hear!" Lily said, pounding her fists on the table.

And so, the Potter children each exchanged sips from the steaming cup of the enigmatic brown liquid until they were interrupted by James, who had a frown sketched on his spotted features.

"Hang on," he said, holding the cup between his hands and staring down at it, "Why didn't anyone tell us about this, anyway? I mean, it's just a drink."

"Maybe Dad forgot." Albus suggested.

"Forgot?" James's frown deepened, "He was sitting right next to us."

"And you didn't ask him." Lily said, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Come off it, how would I know?" James cried out indignantly.

"You could've smelled it." Albus said, siding with his sister.

James gaped at his siblings, groaned, and muttered, "Sod off."

"Not until you give us some more." Albus mumbled, scowling and pursuing his lips.

"It's finished." James whispered softly, hoping that they didn't hear him, yet the other two heard him distinctly.

"WHAT?" They shouted loudly and James winced; he also felt shocked that it was done so soon.

"Get some more!" Lily bellowed, ignoring Albus who was trying to calm her down in case their mother woke up.

"How — where?!" James shrank in his chair and slid it backwards in an attempt to escape the crazed look in his siblings' eyes.

"I dunno! Where did Daddy get it from, anyway?" Lily said, gesturing wildly, gradually growing hysterical.

"You mean, where did _Mummy_ get it from?" Albus said, holding his finger out in front of him. James and Lily glanced at each other for a split second before looking away, shaking their heads.

"So, what are you saying? We should ask Mummy?" Lily asked, placing her hands on hips, and pinned her emerald eyed brother with a challenging glare.

"No!" Albus responded indignantly, "If Dad didn't say anything about that drink, then maybe it's because we're not allowed to drink it. So we can't ask Mummy."

"Whatever."

Albus huffed.

"Let's search for it, yeah?" James asked, a mischievous grin creeping back to his face.

"Yeah." Albus and Lily agreed at once.

And so, the Potter children tore the Kitchen into pieces as they searched for another cup of the brown liquid.

"I wonder if it's in there." Lily said wondrously, eyeing the top counter.

"Well, don't just stand there," James reproved, bringing a chair over to his sister as Albus crawled in a small counter, chucking useless things out, "Get up there and search."

"Alright, alright," Lily whined, climbing onto the chair muttering, "No need to get your wand in a knot."

Making sure that Lily was busy, James padded over to one of the counters, climbed on top of it, and situated himself on the countertops, looking for the mysterious brown liquid.

After a few minutes of searching, James finally shouted, "I found it!" Causing Lily to nearly fall off and Albus to bang his head on the roof of the counter. They both whirled around to find James pointing at a jug sitting innocently on the stove.

All three grinned at the sight of the teasing liquid, and they took their seats at the table again as if nothing had changed; indeed, nothing did change about the children, but one would spot the definite change of the Kitchen. In fact, if their mother were to walk in at that very moment, she would reverse, and return back to sleep as if nothing had ever disturbed her dream world.

So preoccupied in their drink that the children failed to notice the front door of the house creaking open as a tall raven-haired man peeked his emerald eyes into the house. The man — or the father — looked around the house amazedly before he entering, startled at its enigmatic silence.

If anyone were to ask him what he would expect when he got home, he would respond with a pile of rubble, and animals that he called children.

The father felt an overwhelming amount of pride sink through him — his children had finally behaved without anyone reproving them, and they had left the house in one piece. He felt the tranquility sink in as he treaded towards the room that he had last left them in, slowly creaking the door open and — tranquility be damned!

"What the _hell_?" Harry breathed out as he caught sight of the room that was — once upon a time — called a Kitchen.

Harry's children jumped out of their seats, their chairs falling behind them, gaping at their father; they didn't hear him come in. Their father — in turn — gaped at the Kitchen, his mind immediately flooding with concern for his _wife_. Oh Merlin, what would _she_ say to this?

"Daddy! Dad!" Harry's children cried out at once, sprinting towards him, yet he couldn't bring himself to greet them like he usually did; they all stayed on the ground this time.

"Daddy, we found this wicked brown stuff —"

"And Lily thought it was mud —"

"But James said we should try it —"

Through his shocked and worried mind, Harry attempted to place all the pieces of the puzzle together; he frowned. At sighting their father's frown, the children immediately misunderstood it as a disapproved one, and they immediately hushed up.

"Er — I — er," Harry stuttered, attempting to form a single coherent sentence, "Wha —?" he shook his head, pinched his nose, adjusted his glasses, and tried again, "What brown stuff?" Looking down at his demons.

"The one that you were drinking." Lily said, flashing at her father a relieved smile with her hands crossed behind her back, and rocked on her heels.

James — also relieved that his father was not angry — padded towards the table, grabbed the now empty cup, and held it up for his father to see, grinning.

Harry — after a moment of revelation — appeared even more startled — terrified even — at the sight of the cup. Now it was _his _fault for sure.

Albus — noting his father's widened eyes — tugged on his father's work robes, drawing his father's attention towards him, asked, "Dad, what _is_ that, anyway?"

Desperately attempting to avoid answering that question, Harry glanced around for an escape from this soon-to-be asylum, and said, still stuttering, "I — erm — er — " and then it dawned on him, "Ask Mum, alright? Because I've got to — er — over-time! — yes — well — " he turned toward them, placing a kiss to each of their heads; after all, it wasn't _really_ their fault, he was the one who had left the cup, "Bye!"

The children watched sadly as he walked — particularly ran — out of the door, mumbling their farewells before shrugging, and stomping back towards their respected rooms to occupy themselves.

* * *

After about a half an hour, a flaming-haired woman descended the stairs clutching her forehead, squinting against the sun's bright luminosity, and it was good thing that her head was already flaming; otherwise, she would have to light her own head on fire first.

The woman — like her husband — was startled at the sight of the spotless house; in fact, it partially _shone _with elegance.

A relieved smile carved her weary features as she took careful steps towards the Kitchen to prepare her family's lunch. Through her lethargic mind, one thought seemed to scream viciously at her: where the _hell_ was Harry?

She scowled deeply; Merlin, if he wasn't in the — Ginny gaped — _Kitchen_?

She had finally reached the Kitchen and opened the door carelessly. She gaped at the sight of the shards of broken glasses, the opened counters, the spilled contents, and she failed to notice that her features were hastily growing a deep shade of scarlet.

And, suddenly, her eyes zoomed to the only jug and cup that was left unharmed in the process. She remembered handing her good-for-nothing _husband_ that bloody cup, but glancing at it, she saw that it was empty, and if Harry wasn't there, then who would gulp that entire jug of —

"Coffee." She breathed, before growling loudly when it dawned on her.

"HARRY!"

Unbeknownst to Ginny, the children had been standing outside the Kitchen door when they heard her footsteps; they wanted to ask her just what that brown liquid was, but now they had their answer.

"So that's what it was." Albus said, turning towards his grinning siblings, and all three of them crept back into their rooms until their mother calmed down. After all, numbing the pain for a while will only make it worse when you finally feel it.

* * *

**A/N:** Hehe. I always imagined for Harry to be a bit more like Arthur as a father, just that Harry might be a bit more stressed than the others; therefore, having his temper rising. The children are really young, Lily is 6; Albus is 8; James is 9. :D

Would y'all like some more oneshots about the Potter family, or would you prefer it to end, and that's all?

A cup of coffee for every review; although, I do prefer a long one, but a cup of coffee to any review, nevertheless. Bye!


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